Aftermath and Reconstruction
by AbsintheJade21
Summary: The rebuilding and recovery of our main characters five years following the Sorceress War, told through the eyes of the next generation of SeeD hopefuls. Formerly titled 'Yume no Naka.' Chapter's five and six now up! The last of the old chapters, yay!
1. 1 SeeD Classroom

So, this is a story that I absolutely love, formerly named 'Yume no Naka.' I have pages and pages of notes on this, and it was put on hiatus because it was kind of sucking. This is the reposted, re-edited version, freshly beta read, for your reading pleasure! If you remember the old story, this is the same plotline. I'm still the same author, and no plagiarism is taking place. Thank you!

Original A/N in italics, July 2005: _The characters of FFVIII absolutely don't belong to me. Ainsley, Ryuu, Hayes, etc. do, so don't use them without my permission. Thanks! Read and review please!_

**1. SeeD Classroom.**

Ainsley Matthews snapped her drooping head up in a desperate attempt to force herself to pay attention.

Class didn't seem to offer the same promise to her that it once had. The promise of learning new, dynamic techniques, listening to an experienced instructor relate her own incredible stories to what the students would eventually face as SeeD cadets.

After studying her teacher for a moment, Ainsley began to look around at the rest of the class. Most of her fellow students had their eyes glued towards the front of the classroom in rapt attention.

Her eyes stopped on a tall girl with long black hair. She was one of the two students, besides herself, who was not following the every move of their instructor. Ainsley squinted at her, smirking when she realized that the girl was studying something completely different than they were supposed to be learning.

Honestly, Ainsley admitted to herself, she admired the girl's audacity. She also wondered how the black-haired girl had overridden her computer console to access information that was not on the current day's syllabus.

Bajiru Shizuka was the other student whose attention was diverted and this came as no surprise to Ainsley. She had never talked to Bajiru for any length of time, but everyone knew that Bajiru only paid attention to two things, girls and hotdogs.

As Bajiru ceased his attempts to stick an unknown object in the hair of the pretty girl in front of him he caught Ainsley's stare and winked playfully. Ainsley didn't respond, holding her stare a bit longer before returning her eyes to the head of the class.

She didn't blame the rest of the class for their obvious interest in their teacher, whether genuine or not. Quistis Trepe's class was one of the most sought after at the Garden.

Instructor Trepe was brilliant by any standard. She had risen through her classes and into a teaching position in the Garden faster than any known student in SeeD history. On top of this, she had lived through the final battle with the sorceress and, more important to the males in Ainsley's class, was admittedly very pretty.

Ainsley sighed. Although she knew, very deep down, that she was, in fact, smart enough to be placed in Instructor Trepe's class, she was also certain that her wealthy parents had a great deal to do with her placement as well.

Sighing once more, Ainsley bowed her head down to glance at her computer screen. With a start, she realized that the computer had automatically signed her off, as it did at the end of every class.

She began to push her chair back when she felt a small hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see the calm eyes of Quistis Trepe staring back at her.

"I was wondering if I could have a word with you later, Miss Matthews?" she politely asked.

Ainsley had read the press releases before she was accepted into Balamb Garden. She knew that the Garden had assured the press that Instructor Trepe had been removed from her position because of her inevitable part in the recent Sorceress War. The Garden had also immediately reinstated her as soon as the war had ended with a full vote of confidence.

Despite these facts, Ainsley suspected that the reason why Quistis Trepe was one of the strictest teachers in the Garden was due to her remarkable failure to train Seifer Almasy. She cast her eyes down, knowing that she was about to be called in for a meeting to discuss her inability to focus in class.

"Miss Matthews?"

Instructor Trepe's voice sounded calm, but slightly concerned. Ainsley colored, realizing that she had once again daydreamed in front of one of the most recognizable people on the continent.

"That would be fine, Instructor," Ainsley replied, nodding her head.

Inwardly she groaned to herself. If word did reach back to her parents, and there was no doubt in her mind that it would, they were certainly going to contact her about it.

The less interaction she had with her parents, the better.

"What time?"

Instructor Trepe smiled. Ainsley couldn't imagine why her instructor seemed so happy. Perhaps Instructor Trepe strongly disliked her and couldn't wait to lay into her about her daydreaming.

Ainsley shuddered at the thought.

"I'll be in my office for a bit after lunch hours, why don't you drop by then?" she responded.

"That sounds okay," Ainsley said weakly, nodding her head.

Instructor Trepe nodded at her, bowing politely before walking back to her desk at the head of the classroom.

Ainsley groaned aloud as she gathered up her few notebooks that lay scattered on the desktop of her console. She could feel the jealous glares of various classmates while she turned to exit the class and resisted the urge to scream at them that she was actually going to get yelled at, not praised by Quistis Trepe.

"Wouldn't do any good anyway," she sighed.

She shook her head as she watched her classmates take an impossibly long time to leave the room simply to get the chance to talk to their famous instructor.


	2. 2 SeeD Cafeteria

I actually decided to make it five years after the war, so the ages are off by two years in the original author's notes. This is also a combination of two chapters in the old story.

Does anyone know Xu's last name? I'll change it if it's not canon.

Original A/N, July 2005: _Just a note. This story takes place seven years after Ultemecia's defeat. This makes Quistis and Seifer 25 years old, and Squall, Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, and Zell 24 years old. Once again, the FFVIII characters and world are being borrowed. Any original characters belong to me. Read, enjoy, review._

**2. SeeD Cafeteria**

Ryuu glanced down at his cards and scowled, watching as two of his cards changed from blue to red. Running his fingers coarsely through his dark hair, Ryuu glared up into the grinning face of his opponent.

"Y'know it's only a game right?" Hayes ribbed, still smiling away.

Ryuu made a face and then placed his Malboro card in the lower left slot.

"Do you know," Ryuu began before correcting himself.

"No, I'm sure you know that this is the 20th time in a row that you're going to beat me," he continued.

Hayes shrugged and flicked his hand lazily, placing another card on the table. His smile widened as he watched the Malboro flip and change to red.

Ryuu sighed and accepted defeat by placing a Bite Bug card into the final slot.

"Good game," Hayes teased as he waited for Ryuu to line up his cards.

"I think I'll have…this one." Hayes brushed his fingers over the Malboro card, flipping it into his palm neatly before taking a healthy bite into one of the many hotdogs that were piled on his lunch tray.

"Good choice," Ryuu said sarcastically as he gathered his remaining cards and placed them in his uniform pants pocket.

Hayes nodded, but refrained from opening his mouth due to the whole hotdog that he had shoved in it seconds earlier. Suddenly Hayes's eyes widened and he began to wave madly. Ryuu turned around to see what had caused Hayes silent outburst and he saw Ainsley Matthews heading over to their table with a tray and a rather sour expression on her face.

"Hello Ryuu, hello…" Ainsley trailed off as she looked at Hayes who immediately stopped his wild gestures and grinned, his mouth still full of hotdog.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, pointing at Hayes.

"Beats me."

Ryuu shrugged quickly and motioned for Hayes to move his cards off of the table so Ainsley could put her tray down. Hayes, finally having swallowed, swept his cards off of the table and into his palm.

"Hiya Ainsley," he said, his mouth finally emptied. "How goes Trepe's class?"

Ainsley shrugged.

"Alright, I guess," she responded. "She wants to talk to me later today, I'm not sure what it's about."

"OOoh," Hayes teased. "Any way I could convince you to let me go have a tete-a-tete with our favorite instructor instead?"

He wiggled his eyebrows and winked for emphasis. Ainsley smiled and shook her head.

"Do you know what it's about," Ryuu asked.

Ainsley paused before nodding with a melodramatic sigh.

"I have a pretty good idea it's about my spacing out in class," she replied.

Hayes snorted and waved his hand through the air.

"That's no biggie," he said, "You space out everywhere don't you?"

She shot Hayes a glare.

"Well you do," Hayes pointedly said.

Ainsley shrugged again and looked up at the clock above the cafeteria window.

"Well, I'd better get going," Ainsley said.

"You didn't even eat anything," Ryuu said, sounding slightly alarmed.

"I'm not really hungry right now," she said. "I really just want to get this over with."

She nodded to Hayes and leaned over to awkwardly hug Ryuu before walking out of the cafeteria.

"Oooh," Hayes said with a high-pitched squeak. "Are you two dating already?"

Ryuu turned and threw an orange which Hayes easily dodged, still laughing.

Out in the corridor, Ainsley watched her feet with the sort of fascination that one can only have from dreading something. To her, they moved of their own will and she was the detached observer watching, with some degree of astonishment, as they led her body down the hallway.

She sighed and lifted her head in order to watch where she was going. The only possible reason for Instructor Trepe's summons would be that she had noticed her lack of attention in her class.

Ainsley sighed again and noticed there were small scuff marks on the marble. None were big enough to leave an ugly scar on the floor, but if you looked really closely, there they were.

Ainsley's feet stopped in front of a wooden door with a small sign on it. The sign read: 'QUISTIS TREPE, SEED, INSTRUCTOR.'

Although Ainsley was certain Instructor Trepe considered her door unremarkable, not that she had purposely made it that way her personality was simply one of those neat-types, it was the door that stood out the most in the corridor.

The doors on either side of Instructor Trepe's were peppered with flyers. The one on the left was a more ordered chaos than the one on the right. Plastered with inspiring quotes and sections from famous speeches, it was completely covered, yet organized, providing ample space for the passerby to read 'XU XIAO, SEED, INSTRUCTOR, GUIDANCE.'

Underneath Instructor Xiao's nametag, an orderly timetable had been fashioned in her impeccable handwriting, including office hours for her students, as well as her regular guidance counselor hours.

In contrast the one on the right was plastered with scenes from comic books and weapons magazines. The name on the door was completely obscured, but Ainsley couldn't think of one student who wouldn't know who the door belonged to. Ainsley reached up to brush aside assembly instructions for fighting glove and sure enough, the sign read, 'ZELL DINCHT, SEED, WEAPONS INSTRUCTOR.'

Next to the sign, Zell, for that's what he insisted his students call him, had tacked a picture of himself, in case you didn't realize who he was.

"Ainsley, I didn't know you were interested in fistfighting," a soft, but incredulous voice from behind her said.

Ainsley's fingers pulled away quickly as if she had touched something very hot. The papers fell back into place with a gentle ruffling as Ainsley turned around. Instructor Xiao, owner of the left door, was in the process of entering her office, looking at Ainsley intently.

"Zell's in the Training Center with some students," Instructor Xiao said in her quiet voice that somehow always demanded your full attention.

"But I have some paper so you could write him a note."

Instructor Xiao looked at Zell's door with a soft hrmmph, "It's not as if he would see it anyway." Her disapproving tone held the slightest hint of humor.

"It's okay, Instructor," Ainsley's words came out in a jumbled whoosh. "I don't need to see Zell."

The instructor's right eyebrow piqued slightly. Ainsley couldn't tell if it was the familiarity that she used Zell's name or whether Instructor Xiao thought Ainsley was lying.

"I'm here to see Instructor Trepe," Ainsley said hurriedly.

Xu straightened her back and nodded before smoothly walking into her office and closing the door.

Ainsley bit her lip and cautiously approached Instructor Trepe's impeccable door. She slowly reached her hand outward. It hovered next to the stained wood for a moment before she knocked soundly on the door.

"Come in," Ainsley heard Instructor Trepe's voice through the door.

Ainsley opened the door with a sense of false bravado. No sense presenting herself as ashamed or guilty without first being properly scolded.

Quistis Trepe looked up from the neat mounds of papers that covered her desk. The Instructor presented a formidable exterior, imposing and regulated in her impossibly pressed SeeD uniform. Her glasses were slightly askew, however, and, upon closer inspection, Ainsley could see that they magnified the dark shadows underneath her eyes.

"Please, sit down," Instructor Trepe said kindly, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk.

"I suppose you're wondering why I called you here."

Ainsley nodded. She knew perfectly well, but it seemed as if Instructor Trepe expected her to agree.

"As you know," Instructor Trepe began. "The SeeD written exams are not too far off."

Ainsley nodded once more. Although she herself probably had another year before she would take the tests, Ryuu and Hayes had been complaining about studying for their exams since the year started.

"As you also know," Instructor Trepe continued. "Headmaster Cid has given strict instructions to prevent the sort of thing that happened…well," she paused for a moment and suddenly seemed to be very far away from where she was.

"Uhh…what happened to me. That is, the taking of the test much too early."

Instructor Trepe had regained her composure so quickly it made Ainsley briefly doubt she had ever lost it. She shot Ainsley a stern look, as if to make her see that she, Instructor Trepe, had been made to take the exams far too early, no matter how brilliant she had been. Ainsley nodded. It seemed unwise to disagree.

"However, you must know," here, Instructor Trepe put an emphasis on must, as if to tell Ainsley that she should pay attention to what she was about to say. "That Instructors are allowed to choose when they think their own students are ready to take the exam."

Ainsley felt silly and unresponsive. With the lack of anything more intelligent to do, she nodded again.

"Your grades are excellent Ainsley, and I want you to at least take the written exam," Instructor Trepe said.

Ainsley was floored.

"I…uhhh…" Ainsley's stuttering seemed a direct opposite to Instructor Trepe's evaluation of her intelligence.

"That is, I haven't studied!" Ainsley blurted out.

Instructor Trepe dismissed this with a graceful wave of her hand.

"You're so on top of things in class, you must be far ahead anyway. After all," she leaned in towards Ainsley, grinning as if she were her best friend with a juicy piece of gossip.

"It's not like you pay attention in class anyway."

Ainsley smiled, but had the good grace to look somewhat sheepish.

"I'll make an agreement," the instructor continued. "You will take the test. If you don't do well, no one will ever hear of it. We'll simply say that it was a practice exam ordered by your rather impressive parents. Unless, of course, if you choose to tell others."

Ainsley nodded quickly, this seemed reasonable so far.

"However, if you do well, I want you to take the practical part of the test as well."

Ainsley swallowed. She knew that the SeeD practicals were always real missions where everything you did was being critically evaluated and overanalyzed. She was good at rationalizing things in theory, but she wasn't overconfident in her ability to put these theories into practice.

"It's settled then," Instructor Trepe said, with an air of finished business. "The test is in a week. I hope that's enough time to prepare."

Moments later, Ainsley Matthews walked out of Quistis Trepe's office. Once again she allowed her feet to blindly take her, while her mind buzzed excitedly.


	3. 3 SeeD Training Center

Thank you to Tequila Princess for her great review and heads up on that typo! I am going to lord that over my beta reader's head for a while.

Still don't own FFVIII. This was originally chapter five. Some of the chapters will be reordered.

Original Author's notes: _Okay! Before this chapter, a few sidenotes. In the game, Diablos is the only GF with encounter none ability. In this story, Zell's Ifrit has it. I'm going with the belief that every GF can learn every ability with the right amount of training. Also, I am aware that caterchipillars did not appear in the training center in the game. However, I wanted to add another monster in there that wasn't a grat. Thanks for reading and please review!_

**3. SeeD Training Center**

Ainsley glanced around her room at the neat charts and tables she had tacked up on every available surface with a satisfied smile. Now, even if she had only stopped into her room to change uniforms, or grab her books, she could have a look around and soak in a bit of knowledge in preparation for her test.

It was times like this that she was glad her roommate had dropped out after the first week, leaving Ainsley with a room to herself. It had meant that Ainsley kept to herself more than the other girls in her class, but at least she had Ryuu and Hayes.

"It's not like I have time to socialize anyway, not with this test to study for," Ainsley murmured.

As she allowed her mind to wander, her eyes fell on a chart, explaining the magic that could be drawn from a bite bug at varying levels.

"This is perfect," she sighed.

The shock had worn off as soon as Ainsley had reached her dormitory room, and she had now begun to realize, in her frenzied wallpapering of charts and articles, that she wasn't sure how she felt about taking the test early. Expecting to receive a dressing-down for her inability to pay attention, she couldn't help but wonder if Instructor Trepe had been influenced by her parents into forcing Ainsley to participate.

Initially, Ainsley had been proud that someone had recognized her for her achievements and not her wealthy family.

Sighing, she lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling, which was currently covered with more detailed monster charts and weapons diagrams.

"Have I really begun to doubt my own ability?"

She voiced the hypothetical question into the empty air, despite already knowing the answer.

"Gaahh! This sucks!" she exclaimed.

Abruptly, Ainsley shot up from her bed to her dresser and began rummaging through the neatly folded piles of clean clothes. Pulling out a spare clean uniform, she quickly changed, and pulled out a mirror from underneath her bed. Turning around a few times, she tried tugging the jacket and skirt down, to fully cover her body.

"If the Garden wants me to be a slut then fine," she mumbled, finally giving up and allowing the jacket and skirt to ride back up.

"It's not like anyone's going to be there anyway."

Reaching under her bed once more, she pulled out a large, well-sharpened scythe before quickly leaving her room.

The training center late at night was dark and noisy. Over the chirping of crickets and various other insects, Ainsley could hear monsters rustling through the underbrush.

Silently, she made her way to a clearing, wiping the beads of sweat that were already forming in on her brow in the humid air. Ainsley knew that if she established the fact that she was alone and appeared defenseless, the monsters would come quickly.

She was not disappointed. The moment she sat down an ambitious grat jumped out from a nearby pool of shade underneath a palm tree.

Ainsley stood. She breathed out for a moment.

She needed to push all other thoughts out of her mind and focus on the task at hand. She could do it. It was exactly like a dance.

Ainsley smiled. She remembered her childhood dance instructor who had personally assured her parents that their daughter would never be a dancer.

Lengthening her stance, she opened her defenses long enough to encourage the grat to attack. As it began to whip a tendril towards her, Ainsley sprang forward, whirling her scythe and slashing through the advancing appendage.

Often, Zell would come to the training center late at night. When junctioned with Ifrit properly, he could easily limit his number of monster encounters giving himself time to think, or just relax.

Zell had found that the noisiness of the training center was a good background for organizing his thoughts, and lately, he'd had a lot to think about. Exams were quickly approaching and not nearly enough of his students were coming in for regular training.

He was going to have to up the mandatory hours again. In addition to this, Quistis had been looking very drawn and tired lately. Even Zell, with his natural ease and happy-go-lucky nature had noticed the darkness under her eyes and her extraordinarily pale complexion.

There were many ways that he could trick Quistis into going on vacation, and Zell began to run through the list in his mind. His concentration was easily interrupted by a sharp noise that rang clear in the humid air.

Attuned to the noises of the training center, Zell quickly realized that someone was being attacked. Springing up, he ran in the direction of the noise.

Zell reached the small clearing with ease, but paused at the edge of it to tighten his dragon skin Ehrgeiz over his fingers before jumping into the fray.

Ainsley had blocked out all other sounds but the sweeping swoosh of her scythe as it moved gracefully through the air. Her once-clean uniform was now covered in grat blood and gastric juice.

Luckily she had thought to bring a large supply of antidotes, and had remained unpoisoned. The first grat had given way to several others, and she was almost sure that there had been a few caterchipillar attacks as well.

As she whirled around to give another grat a swift death, she saw a flash of a person in her way and brought her body to a complete stop. Her scythe landed softly on the leaves where she had thrown it to avoid hitting the man.

"Hiya!" Zell Dincht said.

He followed up this enthusiastic greeting by flashing his trademark grin and his thumbs-up pose.

Ainsley blushed profusely.

"Thought you were in trouble," he said, running a gloved hand through his hair. He paused and glanced at the bleeding corpses of dead grats that surrounded the girl.

"…but I guess you were doing great. Sorry for the interruption and all."

Ainsley could only nod as she wordlessly retrieved her scythe, never once taking her eyes off of Zell.

"Well…uh…you looked really great in there," Zell continued when Ainsley failed to pick up the conversation. "Just blowin' off some steam?"

Ainsley shook her head.

"Just training," she managed to say.

Zell laughed good-naturedly.

"Wish other students were like you. You're not even taking the test next week, and you're still here."

Zell followed this statement with a friendly sigh. When Ainsley didn't respond, Zell cleared his throat and continued talking.

"I'm gonna head out, ok? I'm junctioned for no encounters, so if you want to get out quick you're welcome to follow." Ainsley mutely nodded and followed Zell out of the training center.

"Wonder how that works really," Zell mused to himself as well as his student.

"Encounter-none?" Ainsley squeaked.

Zell looked slightly surprised that she was talking, and grinned again.

"Yeah. I'm sure I learned it sometime but," Zell shrugged and grinned at her.

"I guess I just don't remember."

"It's a Guardian Force ability," she responded as if reciting a textbook.

"The GF sends out a signal to all monsters in an area. The size of the area depends on the strength of the signal."

"Cool! Like psychic powers?"

Zell said this excitedly, wiggling his eyebrows at Ainsley to let her know that he was just kidding. Ainsley blushed and continued.

"No one really knows exactly. It could be a sort of pheremone that deters things instead of attracting them, or some sort of weak, subliminal brain wave," she said.

Zell grinned again.

"I was just kidding," he said.

"You're pretty smart. Too bad you're not up for the test. I bet you'd pass."

"I…uh…am, actually," she nervously said.

"Instructor Trepe thought it might be a good idea."

Zell's eyebrows raised as Ainsley mentioned Quistis Trepe.

"So Quis is your Instructor? What's she like?" he asked.

"She's really strict," Ainsley began.

Zell burst out laughing before she could continue.

"Yeah, that's bossy old Quisty for you. I bet she's even worse than she was when Squall was her student," Zell chuckled.

Ainsley didn't reply. Zell waited a few moments before prodding her.

"So…what else?" he said.

"Um…she's very fair. And she notices things quickly," Ainsley responded.

Zell nodded, and his eyes became dreamy.

"Yeah, she was always was like that," he said quietly, before snapping back to the present.

"Well, here's the dorm. See ya soon, Ainsley!"

"You know my name?"

Ainsley tried her best to not look incredulous as she spoke.

"I know all my students names," Zell replied simply.

"See ya!"

As Zell walked off, he couldn't help but chuckle once more at Ainsley's description of his former teammate. However, his expression sobered when he thought of the drained and pallid Quistis he had seen the day before in a staff meeting.

He punched his right fist into his left palm. There had to be something he could do to cheer up his friend.


	4. 4 Centra Plains

The-Lady-Isis, I can honestly say that your review was the first time I've ever had anyone review two of my stories located in separate genres. Thank you!

The real excitement begins when I bust through rewriting these chapters and start in on new chapters. Yay!

This was orginally chapter six.

Original A/N:_Wow, we're already to chapter six and I still don't own any of the FFVIII characters. Sad. I do own my original characters (Ainsley, Ryuu, Hayes, etc.)._

**4. Centra Plains**

Selphie Tilmitt gritted her teeth against another one of the many dust storms that graced the Centra plains.

"Damn you to holy hell, Squall!"

She directed her fury at the sky, whipping her Strange Vision artistically through the gale and receiving a mouthful of dust for her trouble.

"There has got to be a better place for a garden than Centra," she said, spitting clumps of dust onto the ground.

"Seriously!"

She groaned and hunched her shoulders, lowering her head and muffling her mouth with her hand.

After the defeat of Ultimecia, Selphie had found herself blessed with many things; a bit of fame, a steady position at Balamb Garden, enough money to help rebuild Trabia, and, her personal favorite perk, a larger budget for Garden events, of which she was sole coordinator. As she edged her way across the dry and barren plains of the Centra continent, she fervently wished that one of these things had, instead, been her very own personal car.

"Hey, sexy. Need a hand?" A deep, smooth voice whispered in her ear.

Selphie screamed and instinctively brought her nunchaku down on the stranger's head. As the weapon made a sickening crunch against flesh, she realized who she had hit.

"What the hell was that for Sefie?"

Irvine Kinneas grimaced as he gingerly touched his fingers to his forehead, feeling the hot stickiness of blood. In a moment, it would mingle and clump nicely with the dust swirling through the air.

"You're bleeding," was all Selphie could say in response.

Irvine quickly gathered his emotions and smiled rakishly as he removed his hat.

"And I may need a nurse to take care of me," he said, winking suggestively. "You up for the job?"

Selphie groaned and poked none-so-gently at the wound she had inflicted. Irvine let out a yelp of pain before the cool and soothing sensation of her healing magic washed over him.

"Awwww. You do care," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes before he could see the brief flash of pain that appeared in them.

"What are you doing in this awful place, anyway?" she asked.

Irvine dramatically placed both his hands on his chest and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Ahhh…Sefie! You wound me!"

"Obviously," Selphie responded dryly. She reached a finger in towards his face for another poke.

Irvine flinched backwards at her touch and opened one eye, smiling warmly.

"I'm obviously here to save you from these dust storms," he said.

At her incredulous look he walked a few steps behind where she stood and gestured grandly at the large car he had parked there.

"Squall sent me."

Selphie looked at the car with mounting interest.

"You definitely weren't supposed to be part of my wish," she mumbled under her breath.

Realizing that Irvine was still watching her, she put on her brightest smile.

"Irvy!" she said cheerfully. "I'm so sorry for hurting you, but, you know, I thought you were a monster."

She punctuated this statement with a cheerful shrug and a sheepish grin. Irvine's smile broadened, but Selphie could detect the wave of relief that showed both in his eyes and in his manner. He relaxed, and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry about it," Irvine said with genuine friendliness. "After all, I can think of some ways you can make it up to me."

Selphie sighed and removed his arm.

"Let's get going. Squall's probably going to kill me for being late."

"Yeah, but at least Rinoa will be there to talk him out of his moodiness," he countered.

Selphie grinned.

"And it's all thanks to me!" she said merrily.

"Which is why this new Garden Festival is going to be the best yet, even better than my concert in FH! A super-duper Centra Garden Grand Opening Festival!"

Selphie clasped her hands together and stared starry-eyed across the plains.

"Hopefully you'll have some time for things other than party planning," Irvine said suggestively, interrupting her thoughts.

"Ugh! Seriously!" Selphie groaned as she grabbed his hand with her surprisingly vice-like grip.

"Let's get in your car before I have to swallow any more dust."


	5. 5 SeeD Exam

Thank you to my two faithful reviewers, The-Lady-Isis and Tequila Princess. I'm glad you two are enjoying the story thus far! As I've already said, I can't wait to get past these old chapters and into some new ones!

This chapter was formerly two separate chapters

Original A/N: _So what's up with Irvine and Selphie hunh? There seems to be a bit of tension there. And what's Squall doing in Centra? Oh well, those questions will be answered for you all later. Right now, it's time for the SeeD written exam! Ahhhh! I still own all of my characters and none of the FFVIII originals._

_Also, it's not letting me do numbers apparantly, but the first question on the test is question 101, and the second is question 102. The answers are lettered a-c in the first question and a-d in the second. Hopefully that makes sense._

_Thanks to my loyal reviewer Jasmine32/Squall'scute55 who has reviewed this story from the beginning when I started it last summer. Yay!_

**5. SeeD Exam**

The library at Balamb Garden was well known for being one of the largest libraries on the continent.

Often, Ainsley would take time between classes to wander up and down the rows of bookshelves. She never looked for anything in particular, stopping occasionally to look at books that piqued her interest. Sometimes, she would open up an old book just to breathe in its musty scent. Ainsley loved the smell of old books.

However, today was different. Today, she was using what would have been her regular class time to study for the SeeD exam that she was to take next period.

Suddenly, someone yanked on her ponytail.

She yelped in surprise and was immediately silenced by the glares of three surly-looking boys who were also studying for the exam. Turning around, her angry stare was met with the laughing blue eyes of Hayes.

"Shhhh," he whispered, lifting his index finger to his mouth.

"This is a library. You have to be quiet."

He dragged the last word out, encompassing nearly ten syllables. Ainsley glared in response before returning to her books.

"C'mon," pleaded Hayes.

"Don't ignore me like that. Besides, if you don't know it by now, cramming within the next half hour isn't going to help you anyway."

Ainsley sighed and closed her book.

"I guess you're right," she said. "I'm still really worried."

The corners of Hayes's eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"You know, it doesn't even count towards your SeeD rank. You could barely pass the test and still get to rank five after the practical."

"Yeah, but if you don't pass this test, you don't get to do the practical," Ainsley countered.

"Touche, my dear, touché," Hayes said. He turned to give the large stack of books at Ainsley's table a long look of disgust.

"Blechhh. Well, I'm sure you'll do better than Ryuu and me combined," he said, raising an eyebrow as he flipped the cover of one of her books.

"_A Complete History of the Galbaldian Civil War_? Why do you need to know that?"

"It's important! What if they ask history questions?" she said.

"Pfftt," Hayes snorted. "What if they don't? Anyway, all this studying is making me hungry, let's go to the cafeteria before the test."

Ainsley opened her mouth, as if to protest, but then thought better of it and closed it. Hayes was right. She wasn't going to learn anything in the next few minutes that she didn't already know.

"Sure, let's go."

"Great!" he said loudly, earning similar dirty looks. Winking at the pigtailed receptionist, he quickly dragged Ainsley out of the library.

The cafeteria was surprisingly empty at a time when the normal lunch rush would be. Ainsley assumed that this was because most people were either in class, or cramming for the written exam. Hayes grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to the food display.

"Got any hotdogs today, Jacey?" he asked the red-headed student working behind the counter.

"Anything for you, Hayes Kelly," the pretty girl winked and pulled a hotdog from the grill before turning to Ainsley. "Anything for you miss?"

"She'll have the same!" Hayes said brightly before Ainsley could refuse. Ainsley sighed and took the tray from the redhead, thanking her as she walked away.

"Want to play some Triple Triad before the exam? I bet it'll loosen you up," Hayes said while shoveling the hotdog into his mouth.

Ainsley grimaced and peeled off some of the bread from her bun, eating it piece by piece.

"We only have ten minutes left," she said. "I should probably get going anyway."

Hayes shrugged and then grinned at her.

"Well, I'm all done with my food. I guess it wouldn't hurt to be a bit early."

He noticed that Ainsley had clammed up again and was walking rigidly at his side. In a rare but sincere gesture, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug.

"You'll do fine," he said.

Ainsley smiled.

"Thanks Hayes. I guess I'm just really nervous."

"If Instructor Trepe didn't think you could do it, she wouldn't have recommended you," Hayes said.

"Besides, Ryuu and I were already saying that you'd school both of us if you took the test this year."

"Care to place a wager on that?" Ainsley nervously grinned. "I bet I school both of you too."

Hayes flashed her a bright smile before squeezing her hand and letting it fall at her side.

"That's the spirit!" he said as they both walked into the classroom.

"Hey, teach," he said to Instructor Baquer as he passed the dark, tall man. The instructor rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Kelly," he began. "If I'd known you were in this section, I never would have volunteered to administer this test." His voice was stern, but his eyes were bright with traces of amusement.

"Awww…I bet you say that to all of your students," Hayes joked as he claimed the nearest computer console.

Ryuu was waving to Ainsley from across the room, but Ainsley ignored him and walked to the very back of the classroom, taking the farthest computer in the last row. She looked around at all of the older students who were laughing, talking, or trying to cram some last tidbits into their heads before the test began, and suddenly felt out awkward and out of place.

"Hey!" a hoarse voice whispered in her ear. Ainsley turned around to see a petite girl with short, black hair. "Is that dreamboat your boyfriend?"

Ainsley stared for a long minute at the girl before realizing who she was talking about.

"Ryuu?" she replied. "No, he's just a friend."

"Too bad," the girl said, shaking her head. "He's pretty cute, and he seems to really want to sit with you." The girl pointed back at Ryuu who was now waving wildly.

Ainsley didn't know what to say, but settled on simply nodding to the girl before returning to her computer screen.

"I'm Quinn," the girl interrupted again, offering her hand to Ainsley. "I haven't seen you in this class before, have I?"

"No, I'm…um…only 15," Ainsley replied, shaking the girl's hand.

"Oh wow!" Quinn said. "So you're, like, really smart and everything?"

Ainsley shrugged.

"Instructor Trepe wanted me to take it," she replied.

"No way!" the excitable Quinn yelled.

Ainsley looked slightly shocked before realizing that no one else was paying attention. They must have been used to her outbursts.

"You've got Quistis Trepe? That's so cool!" the black-haired girl continued. "What's your name again? I didn't catch it."

"And you will have to wait in eager suspense, Miss Creighton," Instructor Baquer interrupted dryly. "Because it's time to begin the exam."

Ainsley blushed and sat up ramrod straight in her seat, embarrassed. Quinn shrugged and smiled before returning to her computer screen.

"Welcome to the SeeD written exam," Instructor Baquer began. "If you aren't already logged in to the network, please do so now."

He paused for a minute before continuing.

"The test has already been transferred to your personal folders. And don't bother to screen cheat because everyone's questions are randomized from a pool of 1,000 possible answers. Good luck to all of you."

Ainsley sighed before selecting the folder entitled, SeeD Introductory Written Exam. Swallowing nervously, she saw that there were 200 questions on her test. She quickly scanned her eyes down to the first question.

_What are the basic components of a Revolver, the original gunblade?_

_A. Adamantine(1), dragon fang(1), pulse ammo(60)_

_B. m stone piece(5), steel pipe(1)_

_C. m stone piece(6), screw(2)_

Ainsley tapped her finger against her cheek nervously, staring at the screen until her eyes began to separate, causing the type to swim in and out of focus. Shaking her head lightly, she cleared her throat and looked at the question again. She knew answer 'A' wasn't right, that was the upgrade guide for the Lionheart. The only known person who had ever assembled that weapon was Squall Lionheart himself.

She quickly selected answer 'C,' and moved on to the next question.

_Select which one of these draw points is not located in Balamb Garden_

_A. Cure, on the stairs outside_

_B. Shell, in Headmaster Cid's office_

_C. Esuna, in the library_

_D. Blizzard, in the Training Center_

Ainsley knew the answer to this question right away, and clicked on 'B' before methodically making her way through the 198 remaining questions.

The test was challenging, but not impossible. The design of 200 questions led the taker to believe it was undoable. Ainsley shot a subtle glance around the room. She noticed that many students looked scared as the clock quickly wound down to the time limit. She quickly scanned through her test, trying to catch any mistakes she might have made.

"Time's up, everybody!" Instructor Baquer said. "Please quit your test screens and log off."

A collective groan filled the room as soft beeping noises emitted from the consoles.

Ainsley sighed and logged off of her terminal. She hadn't had time to check all of her answers, but she was certain that she had, at the very least, passed.

As she walked out of the room, she heard hurrying footsteps behind her.

"Hey! Heeeeyy!" a loud and cheerful voice called out.

Ainsley debated ignoring it and walking faster, but she couldn't allow herself to be that rude. Instead, she slowed down and turned to see the black-haired girl, Quinn, barreling towards her.

"Phew!" Quinn exhaled, slumping forward for a minute to catch her breath.

"I almost didn't catch you! Anyway, how do you think you did? Weren't the draw questions hard? I mean, the monsters have so many levels, you know, so how are you supposed to know which one they're talking about. I just answered the ones that had all of the levels in them. Like how you can draw Fire from a low-level Bite Bug, but then you might be able to draw Fira if it's at a higher level? It's the same with…"

Ainsley stared at Quinn as they walked. She wasn't sure if the tiny girl actually expected answers, or if she was just thinking out loud. Ainsley jumped, startled, as Quinn poked her in the side.

"I'm not hearing a lot of talk, genius. Does that mean this test was actually hard for you?" Quinn asked.

"I...uh…I mean, no. No, the test wasn't that bad," Ainsley said, taken aback by the girl's outgoing personality.

"I didn't get to check my answers, though," she added as an afterthought.

"Pffft," Quinn snorted. "I barely finished. I bet I passed though, I mean, sometimes I just like to take my time, you know? So I was going really slowly through the first…mmmmm…fifty or so, but then after that I was all set. I noticed the time and I knew that I was going to have to hurry up so…"

Quinn lapsed into another rant that Ainsley quickly drowned out.

"Hey!" Quinn's piercing shout interrupted Ainsley's thoughts.

"Are you even listening?" she asked Ainsley.

"Ummmm…"

Ainsley quickly searched her mind for an answer that wouldn't be too insulting. As she stammered Quinn burst out laughing and grabbed her hand.

"S'okay! I'm used to it!" Quinn said brightly. She then began to walk briskly in the direction of the cafeteria.

"Although you're kind of socially inept aren't you?" she added as she pulled Ainsley across the Garden.

Ainsley stared her, shocked by both her straightforwardness and her vice-like grip on Ainsley's hand.

"Ohhh," Quinn said, sharply inhaling.

"I didn't insult you did I? Sometimes I just come out and say things that shouldn't be said, you know? Only the way I see it, it's better to be honest. I mean someone has to say it eventually, right?"

"Ummm…I guess so," Ainsley responded.

Her mind was spinning in circles. Quinn talked too fast to keep up with and Ainsley wasn't sure exactly what she was responding to. She supposed that telling Quinn that she was annoying her would be mean. Besides, she almost appreciated the company.

"Good. I don't actually want to insult you," Quinn said. "It's just that geniuses are known for being kind of socially awkward, you know?"

"I'm not a genius," Ainsley blurted out.

Quinn eyed Ainsley as they entered the cafeteria.

"Well you're intelligent at least, because you're taking the test and you're two years younger than me."

"Instructor Trepe thought I should take it," Ainsley replied. "That's all."

"So, you're smart then, it's no big deal, really," Quinn said with an air of finality.

"Anyways, I forgot to ask you, what's Instructor Trepe like? Is she really nice? Is she really strict?"

Quinn continued to hit Ainsley with a barrage of questions until the two had each grabbed some food at the counter, sat down at a table, and started a card game.

"She's ok," Ainsley said as she placed a Blobra card in the upper middle slot. It was quickly flipped over by Quinn's Chimaera.

"She's really smart, and fair."

Quinn wrinkled her nose.

"That's kind of a lame answer. It doesn't sound like you really like her at all," she said as her Chimaera card was turned over by Ainsley's Mini-mog.

Ainsley shrugged. "I don't know what else to say. She's okay, but she's not my favorite teacher."

"Who is?" Quinn asked as her final card, an Abyss Worm was placed in the bottom left. Ainsley had already won the match.

Ainsley blushed. Quinn eyed her again. "So it's like that, hunh?" Quinn asked. "Who is it?"

"Zell," Ainsley said softly.

Quinn wrinkled her nose again.

"I guess he's okay-looking. Have you seen pictures of Headmaster Squall? Now he's hot! Although, I think he's married or dating someone or something. That sorceress girl."

Ainsley shrugged in response.

"Well," Quinn continued to talk. "It's too bad you don't have the hots for that cute boy who was eyeing you in the test, 'cause he's headed over this way."

Ainsley blushed again and quickly picked up Quinn's Chimaera as her prize before putting her cards away.

"Hey Ainsley," Ryuu said as he pulled up a chair to their table. "Hi…ummm…you're in my class, right?"

Quinn snorted and firmly shook his hand. "I'm Quinn Creighton, and yes I am in your class. How very perceptive of you."

Ryuu had a good enough nature to blush before slowly massaging his hurt hand.

"So Ainsley," he turned towards her. "How did the test go?"

"It was okay," Ainsley said shortly.

"Ummm…I'm actually feeling kind of drained. So I think I'm going to head back to my room now. See you guys."

Ainsley made a quick exit, leaving Quinn and Ryuu to sit, awkwardly looking at each other.

"Tough luck, loverboy," Quinn shrugged, patting Ryuu hard on the back.


	6. 6 Balamb, Zell's House

So this chapter is the LAST OF THE ORIGINALS! Yay! Now we can finally move on to the meat of the story. Unfortunately, this also means that chapter updates will be coming less frequently, as they now have to be written as well as edited.

Tequila Princess: Yeah, there are a lot of romantic possibilities in this entire story, the pairings will all come to light later on as their friendships and relationships evolve. Quinn is my favorite of the original characters. Sure she's supremely annoying, but she can also be that brutally honest friend who tells you what she actually thinks instead of what you want to hear. Thanks for the review.

Original A/N: _Still don't own anything except my own characters. I also couldn't find a listing for Zell's mom's first name. Hopefully Ruth will suffice. Enjoy!_

_P.S. the 'professional' quote was originally said by Reno in FFVII. I thought it fit._

**8. Balamb, Zell's House**

Breezy.

That was the name of slow, lilting song that had been written for Balamb, and it suited the quaint ocean town nicely. Usually, the soothing melody that could be heard in most of the Balamb cafes and stores had the ability to calm Quistis, even on her worst of days.

However, as Zell tightened his grip on her hand and dragged her into town, away from the piles of work that had accumulated on her desktop, Quistis felt anything but breezy.

"You know, in certain circles, this could be categorized as kidnapping," Quistis said, gritting her teeth in anger.

Zell looked back at her with an easy grin.

"You work too hard, Quisty. C'mon, my Ma is an awesome cook!"

Quistis sighed. Short of breaking out her Save the Queen and beating Zell into a pulp she couldn't really think of a way to escape.

"Weren't you just saying you needed some time off?" Quistis said aloud.

"Hunh?" Zell looked back at her curiously.

Quistis blushed.

"It was nothing, Zell," she said. "Please, keep leading the way."

If Zell took note of Quistis's dry and sarcastic tone, he didn't acknowledge it. Instead, he tightened his grip further and led her to a small house near the center of town.

"This is it," he said, giving Quistis a push as he stomped his way inside.

"Hey, Ma! We're here!"

Quistis winced at the volume of Zell's voice as a stout woman entered the room. Her brisk manner and general appearance reminded Quistis of Dr. Kadowaki.

Zell's mother wiped her hands on her apron before offering her hand to Quistis.

"Please," she said. "Just call me Ruth."

Quistis nodded and shook the older woman's hand. She had a surprisingly strong grip.

"The other guests are already seated in the dining room," Ruth Dincht continued.

"Other guests?"

Quistis blanched and then turned to glare at Zell, who shrugged good-naturedly.

"It's not often you get out, Quisty. I figured you could do with some company," he said.

Quistis narrowed her eyes and bit her tongue as she walked into the dining room. She was immediately shocked to see Cid, Edea, and Xu sitting at the small table, smiling up at her.

"Hey, Quistis," Xu said softly. "Nice of you to join us for dinner."

Quistis smiled and laughed weakly.

"Yeah, I didn't realize all of you would be here. It's very good to see all of you," she managed to say, ignoring the fact that she had been dragged out of her office by force.

She pulled out the small wooden chair next to Xu and sat down.

"So Xu, how do you think your students are going to do on the exam today?"

As Xu began to answer the question, Quistis felt a hand squeeze her shoulder. She looked up to see Zell wink hopefully at her before taking a seat across from her.

Quistis smiled back at him while his mother passed platefuls of steaming food around the table. Quistis couldn't hold this against Zell for too long. She knew he meant well, if nothing else.

"…And of course, Ivy Blackthorn will pass with flying colors," Xu continued.

"However, enough about my students. I hear you have a 15 year-old taking the exam."

"Mmrphh!" Zell exclaimed, his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"Chew and swallow, Zell. We know it's hard but you can do it," Xu offered sarcastically, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Quistis placed her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. Cid and Edea watched their former charge with a mixture of interest and disgust. Ruth simply shook her head and offered her adopted son a napkin.

"Thanksh Ma," Zell said, his mouth still partially filled with food. He wiped his mouth and quickly swallowed.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I met your 15 year-old, Quis. She seems very…serious, graceful too," he added as an afterthought.

Quistis nodded.

"Ainsley is very serious. You just met her? I assumed she would already be one of your star pupils."

Zell paused to think, shoveling another mouthful of food and swallowed it without chewing.

"Well, she is in one of my classes, but she's very quiet. I hadn't said two words to the kid until the other night."

"The other night?" Quistis asked.

"Yeah, she was fighting in the Training Center. I guess she just had to let off some steam or something. Anyway, she seemed really embarrassed. Or maybe just self-conscious."

Quistis pushed her slipping glasses up her nose.

"Well she is quiet, I suppose. Although she's always been very confident of her abilities in my class. Not arrogant, mind you, but she definitely knows that she's capable."

Quistis rushed the last part of her sentence. Just saying the word 'arrogant' had brought back bad memories of a certain blond student.

Oblivious, Zell shrugged.

"Oh well," he said, "I'm sure she'll do fine anyway."

Quistis nodded in reply as Ruth re-entered the room, taking requests for coffee and dessert. Quistis politely declined.

"I have to get back," she grinned around at Xu, Cid and Edea.

"I have a mound of papers waiting for me back in my office."

"Actually," Cid said softly. "You don't."

Before Quistis could speak, Xu answered her question for her.

"As of now, Quistis Trepe, you are on vacation."

Quistis immediately narrowed her eyes and glared at Zell.

"I suppose this is mostly your doing," she accused.

"Actually," Edea stepped in to prevent a fight. "We've all noticed how pale and worn-down you've been looking lately."

"You take your job too seriously," Cid continued, placing his hand in his wife's and looking up at her.

"Someone once said, 'a professional isn't someone who sacrifices themselves for a job, that's just a fool,'" he continued.

Edea and Xu continuing smiling warmly at Quistis as Zell shot her a pleading look.

"Please, Quisty. I've been worried about you," he said simply.

Quistis sighed and smiled wanly at her peers.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

She addressed Cid more than the others, feeling out whether this was a direct Garden order.

"It's not an order, Quistis, but it's a strong suggestion," Cid replied.

The blonde instructor sighed once more and shrugged, sensing that she was vastly outnumbered, and kicking herself for getting caught in Zell's trap.

"Well, maybe I can go visit Squall in Centra."

Zell eyed her suspiciously.

"Okay," he said after a few moments, "but I'm going to keep in touch with him everyday. If I hear that you're lifting so much as a pinky to help with the building, I'm going to personally go down and beat you so you're confined to bedrest for a long time."

Quistis uncharacteristically burst out laughing and pushed her glasses up once more.

"It's a deal," she said.


End file.
